John Molyneux is a socialist, activist and writer. He is a member of the Irish and British SWP.He formerly lectured at Portsmouth University,but now lives in Dublin. and writes mainly, but not exclusively,
about Marxist theory and art.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

What is Fascism?

Socialism #1.01 written for Irish Socialist Worker.

John Molyneux

What is Fascism?

Is Trump a fascist? It is a reasonable question to ask given
that Trump is a right wing racist, misogynistic, homophobic, imperialist bigot
and bully and that there is also no shortage of people willing to call him a
fascist.

In actual fact he’s not: he’s a right wing racist,
misogynistic, homophobic, imperialist bigot and bully, but not a fascist – at
least not yet.

Understanding why this is so helps us to understand what
fascism was and what it is today – the better to recognise it and defeat it
whenever it appears.

Fascism was a mass counterrevolutionary movement that arose
in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. It took
power first in Italy (where
the name ‘fascism’ came from) led by Mussolini, then in Germany (where it was known as Nazism) and then
in Austria, Spain, Portugal and elsewhere. Fascist
movement of various degrees of strength arose in most countries in this period,
including France, Britain and Ireland.

Nazis

Racism, nationalism, sexism, homophobia and authoritarianism
were all features of fascist ideology – in the case of the Nazis anti-semitism
played a crucial role – but they were not its defining characteristics and they
are much more widespread than fascism.

Let’s be clear – all these reactionary ideological themes
have been around a lot longer than fascism. Victorian England, for example, was
very racist, nationalistic, sexist and homophobic and, obviously, highly
imperialist; it was not fascist. Ireland in the 1950s was certainly
conservative, nationalist, racist, sexist and homophobic; it was not fascist.

The USA
today, despite Obama, is deeply racist as it has been since its foundation
(witness the regular police murder of black people), very sexist in many ways,
nationalistic and imperialist and has a horribly brutal penal system; it is not
a fascist state.

What distinguished fascism historically was that it was a movement, largely based on the lower
middle classes enraged by the economic crisis, which existed both within and outside
the ‘normal’ framework of elections and parliamentary politics and which could
be, and was, used as a
counter-revolutionary fighting force against ‘communists’, ‘socialists’ and the
labour movement as a whole.

Regimes

What distinguished the fascist regimes was that they dispensed with parliamentary democracy and
crushed and broke up all forms of independent opposition, especially opposition
from the workers’ movement - trade unions, socialist parties and the like.

It was these characteristics, not just reactionary ideas or
even extreme brutality (which sadly has been a feature of the whole history of
class society), that made fascism so useful to the capitalist class in times of
economic and political crisis and such a mortal threat to the working class and
the left – literally a matter of life and death.

It was also a key feature of these fascist movements that
they arose mainly from the lower middle class who were enraged at their
treatment by the banks and big capital and so deployed a certain anti-banker,
anti- capitalist rhetoric. But they came to power, not just by their own
strength, but with the support of the capitalist class, and in power they
governed in the interests of that class.

This brings us back to Trump. Trump is not (yet) a fascist,
not because he is some kind of liberal but because he hasn’t sought to organise
an extra-parliamentary movement on the streets which can take on the left and
the workers. He could do this in the future but he hasn’t done it yet.

Neither has Nigel Farage of UKIP in Britain, who is also a far right
racist populist, but not a fascist.

However, this doesn’t mean there is no fascist threat.
Unfortunately across Europe there are a number of significant fascist movements
and parties which have grown during the austerity years: they include Golden
Dawn in Greece, Jobbik in Hungary, and the Front National in France.

In Britain
there was the BNP but they have largely fallen apart. In addition there are many
smaller groups and movements, like the EDL and various Pegida outfits who would
like to be able to establish serious fascist parties. So there is no room for
complacency.

Combating fascism is a vital task for socialists and the
left. It requires both mobilising against them on the streets and building a major
challenge to austerity and the system from the left.

In Ireland
there has been no significant fascist movement since Eoin O’Duffy’s Blue Shirts
in the 1930s. We need to keep it that way.

That’s why the highly effective mobilisation against Pegida Ireland before
the election was an important victory for the left.